Guinea-Bissau (2004) | Mayotte (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos | none (territorial collectivity of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.7% (male 288,760; female 289,975)
15-64 years: 55.4% (male 367,728; female 400,996) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,570; female 23,334) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.2% (male 44,926/female 44,521)
15-64 years: 52.1% (male 54,713/female 46,156) 65 years and over: 1.7% (male 1,666/female 1,651) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish | vanilla, ylang-ylang (perfume essence), coffee, copra |
Airports | 28 (2003 est.) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
total: 374 sq km
land: 374 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable upheaval. The founding government consisted of a single party system and command economy. In 1980, a military coup established Joao VIEIRA as president and a path to a market economy and multiparty system was implemented. A number of coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him and in 1994 he was elected president in the country's first free elections. A military coup attempt and civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIERA's ouster in 1999. In February 2000, an interim government turned over power when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. YALA was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2003, and Henrique ROSA was sworn in as President. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war. | Mayotte was ceded to France along with the other islands of the Comoros group in 1843. It was the only island in the archipelago that voted in 1974 to retain its link with France and forego independence. |
Birth rate | 38.03 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 41.58 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: NA
expenditures: $73 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1991 est.) |
Capital | Bissau | Mamoutzou |
Climate | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds | tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November) |
Coastline | 350 km | 185.2 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Mayotte
conventional short form: Mayotte |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used | - |
Death rate | 16.57 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $941.5 million (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | territorial collectivity of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903 | none (territorial collectivity of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA
chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
none (territorial collectivity of France) |
Disputes - international | attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance region | claimed by Comoros |
Economic aid - recipient | $115.4 million (1995) | $107.7 million; note - extensive French financial assistance (1995) |
Economy - overview | One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in low growth in 2002-03 and dim prospects for 2004. | Economic activity is based primarily on the agricultural sector, including fishing and livestock raising. Mayotte is not self-sufficient and must import a large portion of its food requirements, mainly from France. The economy and future development of the island are heavily dependent on French financial assistance, an important supplement to GDP. Mayotte's remote location is an obstacle to the development of tourism. |
Electricity - consumption | 51.15 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 55 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Benara 660 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% | NA |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro |
euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28 September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrew the elected government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 to 28 September 2003
head of government: Prime Minister Carlos GOMES Junior (since 9 May 2004) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the elected government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 September 2003 until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with the establishment of a caretaker government |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean-Paul KIHL (since 17 January 2005)
head of government: President of the General Council Said Omar OILI (since NA 2004) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; president of the General Council elected by the members of the General Council for a six-year term |
Exports | NA (2001) | $3.44 million f.o.b. (1997) |
Exports - commodities | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber | ylang-ylang (perfume essence), vanilla, copra, coconuts, coffee, cinnamon |
Exports - partners | India 76.8%, Nigeria 12.1%, Italy 5.1% (2003) | France 80%, Comoros 15%, Reunion (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.063 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -7% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 12 00 N, 15 00 W | 12 50 S, 45 10 E |
Geography - note | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland | part of Comoro Archipelago; 18 islands |
Highways | total: 4,400 km
paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.) |
total: 93 km
paved: 72 km unpaved: 21 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $141.3 million f.o.b. (1997) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products | food, machinery and equipment, transportation equipment, metals, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Senegal 18.1%, India 14.6%, Portugal 14.6%, China 9.7%, Italy 9%, Spain 4.9% (2003) | France 66%, Africa 14%, Southeast Asia 11% (2000 est.) |
Independence | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) | none (territorial collectivity of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.6% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Industries | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks | newly created lobster and shrimp industry, construction |
Infant mortality rate | total: 108.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 119.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 97.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 62.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 68.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 56.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2002 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | UPU |
Irrigated land | 170 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) | Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel |
Labor force | 480,000 (1999) | 48,800 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 82% (2000 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 8.82% other: 80.51% (2001) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages | Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population |
Legal system | NA | French law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years); note - President YALA dissolved the National People's Assembly in November 2002, elections for a new legislature were scheduled to fall in February 2003 but were then postponed to April, then July, then September, and were last scheduled to occur in March 2004
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%, PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2% ; seats by party - PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 1 |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 21 and 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - MDM 23.3%, UMP 22.8%, PS 10.2%, MRC 8.9%, FRAP 6.5%, MPM 1.2%; seats by party - MDM 6, UMP 9, MRC 2, MPM 1, diverse left 1 note: Mayotte elects one member of the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 16 June 2002 (next to be held as a special election in June 2005); results - percent of vote by party - UMP-RPR 55.08%, UDF 44.92%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 46.98 years
male: 45.09 years female: 48.92 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 61.39 years
male: 59.22 years female: 63.62 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal | Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none | - |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France; small contingent of French forces stationed on the island |
Military branches | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $8.4 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (2003) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 326,864 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 185,801 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
noun: Mahorais (singular and plural)
adjective: Mahoran |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires | cyclones during rainy season |
Natural resources | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Platform or UP [coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Francisco Jose FADUL] | Democratic Front or FD [Youssouf MOUSSA]; Mahoran Popular Movement or MPM [Ahmed MADI]; FARC [leader NA]; Federation of Mahorans or RPR (UMP) [Mansour KAMARDINE]; Movement for Department Status Mayotte or MDM [Mouhoutar SALIM]; Renewed Communist Party of Mayotte or MRC [Omar SIMBA]; Socialist Party or PS (local branch of French Parti Socialiste) [Ibrahim ABUBACAR]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 1,388,363 (July 2004 est.) | 193,633 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.99% (2004 est.) | 3.93% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim | Dzaoudzi |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% | Muslim 97%, Christian (mostly Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.18 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: country code - 245 |
general assessment: small system administered by French Department of Posts and Telecommunications
domestic: NA international: country code - 269; microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communications to Comoros (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,600 (2003) | 10,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,300 (2003) | 21,700 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | NA (1997) | 3 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east | generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks |
Total fertility rate | 5 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 5.89 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (1998) | 38% (1999) |
Waterways | 4 largest rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2004) | - |